Nic of time: Wallin's goal gets Sharks past Red Wings

May 1, 2011 - 11:47 PM

San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Niclas Wallin doesn't boast many playoff
goals, but each one has something in common -- they're all game-winners.

The 36-year-old defenseman scored early in the third period, and San Jose
withstood a late Detroit rally to emerge with its second consecutive 2-1
victory in Game 2 of this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

"At the end of the day, the two teams are pretty darn even," said San Jose
head coach Todd McLellan. "I think you're going to continue to see this. It's
going to be a bounce or a break that goes one way. But if anybody should let
their guard down, whether it's us or them, the other team is going to make
them pay."

Antti Niemi turned aside 33 shots from the Red Wings, who find themselves in
familiar territory, facing a 2-0 deficit to the Sharks heading back to
Detroit.

These two clubs are meeting in the second round for the second year in a row.
Like they did in 2010, the Sharks took the first games at HP Pavilion. San
Jose eventually ousted Detroit in five games.

San Jose doubled its lead 1:39 into the third with the fourth postseason
tally of Wallin's career.

Wallin gathered a Ryane Clowe pass in the neutral zone, avoiding Todd
Bertuzzi's poke check, and pushed the puck down the right side. As he moved
inside the faceoff circle, the left-handed shooting rearguard snapped a high
wrister. Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard got a piece of the shot with his
glove, but not enough as the puck fluttered into the net.

The previous three playoff goals Wallin scored were all overtime winners, and
his latest tally proved to be critical after the Red Wings got on the board
via the power play.

With San Jose forward Devin Setoguchi in the penalty box for slashing,
Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg, who missed the entire opening round against
Phoenix with a sprained left MCL, converted a feed from Pavel Datsyuk with
6:02 remaining in regulation.

Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom hit the post with a little over two minutes
left, and Detroit, which will host Game 3 on Wednesday, pulled Howard in the
late stages but an equalizer wasn't forthcoming.

Howard made 35 saves in defeat.

"I thought we skated better and had more opportunities. We just weren't good
enough. They won more battles than we did," said Detroit head coach Mike
Babcock.

Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader clipped Calder Trophy finalist Logan
Couture, triggering an early power play for the Sharks. Ian White let go a
slap shot from the high slot, beating a screened Howard 4:54 into the contest
for his first career playoff goal.

Ferriero celebrated his 24th birthday on Friday by supplying the overtime-
winner in his postseason debut. He became the first NHLer to score an overtime
goal in his first playoff game since Niko Dimitrakos turned the trick for San
Jose on April 8, 2004 versus St. Louis.

Game Notes

Clowe assisted on both San Jose goals...Detroit finished 1-for-6 on the power
play, while the Sharks were 1-for-5 with the man advantage...San Jose's last
three playoff wins over Detroit have all come by a 2-1 score.